Reference no: EM132465746

Discussion: Industrialization, Revolution, and Civil Rights

"I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions. This will be the day when we bring into full realization the American dream -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few..."

-Dr. Martin Luther King, 1963

During the Cold War era, North and South America underwent significant changes in both the areas of industrialization and urbanization. During this time, nations rode an economic roller coaster leading to the stratification of social and economic inequality. The widening socioeconomic gap between the status of people within these nations then led to civil unrest and the call for civil rights, equality, and respect. The growth in industrialization between these two continents resulted in high levels of great rural and urban sprawl.

As poverty increased in the Americas, groups that had historically been subordinate groups made their voices heard in their cry to escape the thumb hold of dominant groups. This uprising did not resonate well with dominant groups. During this time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the civil rights movement and fought for racial equality.

In these troubled times, the people of South America were facing similar struggles. They also witnessed battles between Socialist/Communist leaders, military leaders, and others that wanted to see democracy.

In this Discussion, you will explore the struggles of the people of both North and South America. You will share your thoughts as you discover which of these nations' struggles were similar and which were different.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the Lukacs and Gould readings in our Learning Resources.

• Review the L'Unita interview with Fidel Castro and Salvador Allende's speech from this week's Learning Resources.

• With this week's reading in mind, consider the various nationalist struggles for independence that followed in the post - World War II era.

• Recall the challenges that the new leaders faced as civil rights movements increased.

• Reflect upon poverty-stricken nations and what they might have endured in their quest for social change.

• Correlate postwar industrialization, revolutionary, and civil rights movements in both North and South America.

• Consider the struggles faced in North and South America. How were they different? Similar?

With these thoughts in mind:

Post an analysis (3-4 paragraphs) comparing revolutionary and civil rights movements in the United States and Latin America and the extent to which the changes desired by the people were or were not achieved and why.